ArticleBMC psychiatry2014
Prevalence and course of somatic symptoms in patients with stress-related exhaustion: does sex or age matter.
Article in BMC psychiatry, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 50 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
50 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Comparing the occurrence of chronic physical disorders in self-employed individuals with that of employees: A systematic review.Work (Reading, Mass.) · 2023Pooled it
- An open trial of biofeedback for long COVID.Journal of psychosomatic research · 2024Trial
- Comparison of autonomous sensory meridian response and binaural auditory beats effects on stress reduction: a pilot study.Scientific reports · 2022Trial
- Effects of Additional Individually Tailored Interventions on Sick-Leave and Symptoms in Patients with Exhaustion Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of rehabilitation medicine · 2022Trial
- Aerobic training for improved memory in patients with stress-related exhaustion: a randomized controlled trial.BMC psychiatry · 2017Trial
- Effectiveness of rational emotive occupational health coaching in reducing burnout symptoms among teachers of children with autism.Science progressTrial
- Pre-pandemic care-seeking patterns and subsequent diagnoses of post-COVID condition, post viral fatigue syndrome, and exhaustion disorder: a registry-based cohort study of 208,050 Swedish women.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- Healthcare consumption among patients with stress-related exhaustion: a register-based study in Swedish primary care.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- Facilitating Return to Work through a Broader Perspective on Vocational Rehabilitation: Insights from Patients with Stress-Related Disorders.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Recurrent blood-spitting as a somatic presentation of pediatric functional neurological disorder: a case report.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Insulin sensitivity in individuals with burnout is associated with physical activity level - a study using oral glucose tolerance test.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Environmental, Health, and Psychological Factors Predict Alcohol Sipping in Childhood: A Machine Learning Analysis of the ABCD Study.JAACAP open · 2025Article
- Mental and Somatic Ill-Health as Long-Term Predictors of the Burnout Symptoms Cognitive Weariness, Exhaustion, and Lack of Vitality in a General Adult Population.Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress · 2025Article
- Lived experiences of how the care relationship in primary healthcare contributes to recovery from stress-related disorders: a reflective lifeworld research study.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2025Article
- Dimensionality, Sensitivity and Specificity of Different Versions of the Shirom-Melamed Burnout Questionnaire/Measure in Clinical and Non-Clinical Populations.Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress · 2025Article
- Network analysis of depressive symptoms in Chinese outpatients with somatic symptom disorder.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Factors associated with symptom severity in stress-induced exhaustion disorder: cohort characterization and cross-sectional correlations.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Somatic symptom and related disorders in the Arab world: a narrative review of clinical features and care implications.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Review
- Managing Stress and Somatization Symptoms Among Students in Demanding Academic Healthcare Environments.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Self-rated health and its bidirectional relationship with burnout, sleep quality and somatic symptoms in a general adult population.BMC public health · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundBoth mental and somatic symptoms are commonly reported in patients with stress-related problems. We have explored the prevalence of somatic symptoms in patients seeking medical care for stress-related mental health problems and followed the course of illness alongside with that the patients receive multimodal treatment.
methodThis study comprises data from 228 patients (69% women, mean age 43 years) who fulfilled the criteria for Exhaustion Disorder (ED). Somatic symptoms were assessed at baseline and after 3, 6, 12 and 18 months using the one-page questionnaire Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders. Prevalence of different symptoms was compared between men and women and patients, over and below 40 years of age, and possible predictors of recovery were explored.
resultsTiredness and low energy are the core symptom reported by the patients. Almost all (98%) reported at least one somatic symptom and 45% reported six symptoms or more, which was similar for men and women. Nausea, gas or indigestion are the most common symptoms (67%) followed by headaches (65%) and dizziness (57%). The number of symptoms reported was significantly related to the severity of mental health problems. The only difference between the sexes was that "chest pain" and "pain or problems during sexual intercourse" were more common among males. Patients over forty more often reported "pain in arms, legs or joints, knees, hips" and this was also the only symptom that did not significantly decline during treatment. Neither sex, age, symptom duration before seeking medical care, education or any other predictor tested was shown to predict recovery in patients reporting six symptoms or more.
conclusionA heavy burden of somatic symptoms was generally seen in most patients with stress-related exhaustion. Somatic symptoms are equally common in males and females and in younger and older patients. The somatic symptoms seem to be mostly stress-related since all symptoms, except musculoskeletal pain, reduce with individualised treatment designed for stress-related mental problems. This study brings to attention the complicated burden of both somatic and mental symptoms in patients with stress-related exhaustion, raising several clinical implications of interest to discuss.
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